Terio the 7-year-old Internet sensation was on stage dancing to Bobby Shmurda’s hit single “Hot Nigga” at this years BET Hip-Hop awards. After ruminating over the performance I started to think about the whose decision it was to have a child on stage dancing to a song about living destructive lifestyle and the politics behind it.

During the BET Hip-Hop awards Terio an overweight Internet sensation was brought on stage to dance to Bobby Shmurda’s popular song “Hot Nigga.” This was a bad idea on so many levels. I’m all for surprise guests coming on stage an little kids engaging with Hip-Hop, but to bring out a little boy who is no older than 7 to dance to a song that is about carrying guns and committing murder, this probably was not the best choice for BET, Bobby Shmurda, and little Terio. Where was the discretion? Why didn’t BET or Bobby Shmurda’s handlers see the potential bad press that could have come from such poor decision-making? These questions caused me to think about why this seemingly innocent move on Bobby Shmurda and BET’s part, doesn’t resonate with me. PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE I WROTE @ BLACK YOUTH PROJECT